Saturday, May 6, 2017

#766 - Adidas NMD R1 Clear Onyx (BY3058) 💖

Because the whole process from
discovering the existence of this design to getting my hands on it was arduous
(I exaggerate), I NEED to document it down for my own sake. Long story ahead!

How did I manage to get the exclusive/popular Adidas Grey Pink NMD the Internet is crazy about?

TL;DR: Monitored this shoe for all its
launches and got it at the latest one via ShopandBox^. ^Referral link of USD10 at the end of the entry!Lesson learnt: 皇天不负苦心人 and Money CAN buy one happiness.Second half sounds so materialistic but it is true to a certain extent. 😁

There are four official launches (of
which dates I could remember, if there is a quiz for this pair of shoes, I
would know it best). 😅

First thoughts: Wow. This colour combination is really pretty?! I
mean it’s grey and pink right, you can’t go wrong with it, I would say they are
the IN colours this season. A lot of shoe brands have been releasing shoes in
pink/grey combination lately, but none comes close to this pair I swear (not
biased).

This was the picture I saw and the
caption was some Thai words lol. There was zero news on it, where to get it
from, are they legit, what the model is.

I love the colours so much, I tried
to hunt it down online but typing “grey pink NMDs” gave me other NMDs which
were not what I was looking for. I kinda gave up until I saw an article on hypebae.

Only in UK? Released on 20 January
2017, an exclusive somemore. It was out of stock by the time I read it
(obviously) and I was quite sad to be honest (HAHA shoe addict mah).

Soon, due to the high demand and no
supply, there were many re-sellers on eBay (Yeah I went to Google where else I
could buy it) selling for around SGD350 and up per pair depending on your feet
size. The original price was £115 (SGD205) okay!

I really wanted it but that point of
time I was still quite “sane” even though I 特地created an eBay account so I could search for the shoes. *shifty eyes* So with the crazy prices, I can only
move on w life and
accept fate (HAHAHA ji drama).

2nd Launch (25 March 2017):

One night I was sitting in my room
scrolling Facebook again and then I saw a friend sharing that US Adidas decided
to relaunch this exclusive edition on their website. Yay??

Yes 又是 hypebae hahaha. Anyway the time launch was 9 a.m. EST which is 9pm
Singapore time. I read the article at 10pm. 1 hour late why?! I still went to
the website anyway even though I know the “Sold Out” sign would be welcoming
me. “Why hello there!” Lolol. The shoes are sold at USD130 (approx. SGD182) on
the website.

Yet another sad moment. So I liked the Hypebae
Facebook page thereafter in hope of re-release/restock news. I wanted to be
prepared this time!

3rd
Launch (6 April 2017):

Restock really happened like I wish for!I
remembered I was eating my 猪肉粉 at Malaysia Boleh before
my swimming lessons when I read the re-release news on Hypebae (really my bae
sia).Need to type that detail out because I usually enjoy the猪肉粉 slowly one but after knowing about the re-release, my appetite was
gone. I was too excited!

Launch was set on 6 April 2017, there wasn’t any
information on time release in the article but the Adidas link had a countdown
timer. It was 3pm Singapore time for the 3rd Launch = Camp in
office.

Started googling for websites that ship from US to
Singapore (US Adidas doesn’t ship internationally) because I want to be ready!

It was down to VPost and EZBuy.

Opted for EZBuy in the end since shipping was
cheaper. I even had a personalised name/address generated, and created an
account with the address filled in to make everything easier.

The next day, I camped at the website since morning
(Idk why also, feel more secure?) and kept refreshing till the last minute. My
heart beat real fast 250pm onwards hahaha.

They say third time’s the charm right? But alas! It
was not the case for me.

I refreshed the site at 3pm, only to see the
countdown timer stating “0 minutes till…” ._.

And look at the sizes left when I finally managed
to get through. All the large sizes remaining okay! Man all these people are
real fast!

At this point, wow the feeling was really… I felt
heartbroken? Like a sense of loss hahaha v dramatic but it was true. Imagine
pinning so much hopes on something and it slipped away. Like I was so close? I
was “there” at the time of the launch leh??

But emodaisy also accepted it and kind of moved on
lol.

4th
Launch (13 April 2017):

Ooo I am the happiest when I type this part.

Hello hypebae you my best friend now. Learnt of the
4th Launch from them again, yes.

Foot Locker and Lady Foot Locker brought them in to
selected stores in US! But how do I get them since they are only launched in
physical stores?

So I resorted to posting on Airfrov. That was my
last hope left! I knew of Airfrov and its services all along but I didn't want
to get this pair of shoes from Airfrov initially because the asking price for
this pair is really high, with an average transaction at SGD280 before 7% + $2
service fee.

At the time I made my request, the accepted offers
are like SGD300, this means you will be paying SGD323 after the extra fees were
taken into account. 😱 I wasn’t willing to spend that much so my willing-to-pay
amount was SGD270. Lol that means SGD290.90 okay, crazy.

But I only posted for the sake of it lah,
personally I doubt anyone would accept also since they get to make SGD30 less!
Then I started thinking how else I could get my hands on them.

Wait a minute! What is this website that I learnt
about while watching Clicknetwork’s Hype Hunt the other day?

Backstory: So I watched a recent episode of CNW
Hype Hunt where they tested out some Snapchat shades which were only released
in US. They managed to get someone from US to get it and ship it to them.

Introducing ShopandBox (hahaha like advertisement
hor) – which came to my ‘rescue’. It is this local startup where they have
people from different countries who can help you buy those things you want from
their country (they are called Boxers) and you pay the original RTP + shipping
fee + 10-14% service fee + some paypal fee.

Sound similar to Airfrov right? Except I paid less
than Airfrov’s average transaction even after adding the additional fees (share
how much later).

It’s more worth it I feel? The final price is not
crazily jacked up and part of the service fees goes to the Boxer while another
goes to the startup itself. Basically you are paying the actual retail price of the product + service fees + shipping fees. More on that later.Furthermore, getting an assigned boxer from the
country you are getting that item from means there is a higher chance for your
item to be purchased. W Airfrov, it’s like you throw a fishing net and wait for
fishes to be caught, travelers might not accept your offer because the offer
price is too low, less chances already yo.

For my case, since the shoes can only be purchased
from physical stores, my assigned boxer was able to help me call the stores
near where she is staying to check for stock. What about Airfrov? I highly
doubt there would be a traveler who is so dedicated to help you call and check
stock. Heck, if they drop by, they check and “help”, else forget about getting
your shoes.

But I got to give it to Airfrov too, I mean some
items are not crazily-priced lah, and if you are paying a slightly higher fee
to get something you want, why not?'

No hate here yo. I think it depends on your need. 😉

So anyway, my first Boxer from US wasn’t able to
assist me since the smallest size in her state was US7.5! I was like huh meh….This was one day after Foot Locker’s announcement of the launch! I knew stock
doesn’t fly as fast as it does online but I couldn’t risk it. I cancelled that
transaction and made another request to a UK Boxer instead. I understood that
there is a v high chance UK doesn’t sell it anymore but it doesn’t hurt to try!

Reply from UK Boxer as above.

I was a little tempted to
correct her that the first launch was in January not December and that it can
still be found (just that in US) but nah, she was nice to offer to help me
source for it eh! Plus she offered to give recommendations of other products in UK. 😉But anyway, I was unwilling to pay that much for a resale pair plus
there was the authenticity issue too.

So.. UK order cancelled. Still wasn’t giving up!

Asked my v first Boxer if US7.5 was the smallest size available for all
Footlockers or? Apparently it wasn’t! And there was a chance that there would
be my size in another state.

Thus, I submitted another order again hahaha. If
only I apply this never-give-up attitude when I study ah.

😅

This time I got news! Thank you Lelian! My reply "YASSS" like we ji close. 😂 But that was how excited I was.

So 紧张 omg, last pair somemore!!!

She said she will check after her work which is 7pm (7am Singapore time). I
quickly made payment for Invoice 1 (the original RTP + Paypal fee*) to confirm
my order even though she was nice enough to say I didn’t have to.

That trust
right there uh, must be because I was really eager and certain about my
purchase hahaha. So yeah, I couldn’t sleep well that night. Woke up at 7plus
even though I slept at 2am.

That message!!! OMG SO HAPPY I CAN’T.

I feel so
lucky because my feet size is really common! 🍀

That whole Saturday was spent in
joy. Who says Money can’t buy happiness HUH. LOL ASS but yeah I never really
wanted something so badly, this was my first. And the joy after all the
disappointments was indescribable! :')

And yea already don't want my face already simi see also happy. 😂

So she got my shoes and took many photos. Wah
really leh, I see also 爽. My babies!

*If there is anything I dislike about Shopandbox,
it’s that the only mode of payment is via Paypal and it autos converts USD to SGD
currency w pretty bad rates. Furthermore, we have to pay the Paypal fee which
is USD8.22 (Invoice 1 + Invoice 2). Wish there was credit card payment!

Update on 16 May 2017:I got a message from my Boxer regarding the Paypal auto-conversion fees and apparently you can click on the conversion rate (which is actually a link) to change your payment options - More info here! That definitely makes shopping w Shopandbox so much better now!With regards to the PayPal fee, that goes straight to PayPal and allows for fast and secure transactions as well as an ease of mind. - Understand about this part but side comment, the sum is a little high! :P Best to get referral so you can offset most, if not all of the fee for your first purchase hehehe.

Anyway… if anyone managed to get to this part, xx
for you! 💋💋 And if you wonder how much did I paid in total, let me break it down
for you.

^Honestly this currency conversion fee is lame
because I paid in SGD by Paypal lor, dk ff OCBC charged for this.

Total: SGD260.45

Yes I know this is a v high amount for a pair of
shoes, in fact this is my most expensive pair of shoes to date but I am really
happy. *coughs* Money can buy happiness *coughs* And I am v pleased also
because I managed to save like close to SGD63 if I were to compare it with
Airfrov’s transacted price! It’s a win for me because there are no other ways
to get my hands on it, and I believe this price is the lowest I can get for it!

😊

I am thankful for my lucky stars and perseverance
(lol self praise iz no praise) and also Lelian who is so understanding and kind
and nice. 5 stars for you 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 – I rated her 5 stars by the way!